Jilpanger Road decision to spark legal stoush

Wed 19 Feb 2014, 10:25 AM AEDT

A Wimmera landowner says she will be taking legal action against the local council after it included a private road on her property in its public road network.

Horsham councillors debated the issue of Jilpanger Road at Monday night's meeting for about an hour, before voting to include the road as part of its maintenance program, rather than let it remain as a private road.

The council's chief executive, Peter Brown, says the decision was taken as a legal measure.

"That's on the basis that we have very strong legal advice that Jilpanger Road is a road under common law," he said.

Mr Brown says there were several objections to the proposal, mainly due to the road's location on private farmland.

"But it provides access to three properties and that's a foremost consideration of council in wanting to properly maintain this road," he said.

The road is partly located on land owned by Lynette Bourchier, who says she is disappointed by the council's decision.

She has accused the council of not being transparent in its reasoning for allowing the change and has written to the Minister for Local Government, Jeanette Powell, about the issue.